Qatar curtails budget by 30% as LNG revenues collapse
The Qatari government has ordered ministries to cut their budgets by up to 30% and slash overseas aid after LNG revenues collapsed. The 2026 state budget had been set at $61 billion at the start of the year, but since then, Qatar’s LNG-dependent economy has been hit hard by war-related damage to its Ras Laffan LNG hub and persistent shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Kuwait's retreat to Qatar began before the war
Kuwait has taken 28 LNG cargoes so far this year, 2.17 million tons on an arrival-date basis to 23 July, and every one of them loaded at Ras Laffan. The last cargo from anywhere else was the LNG Borno out of Bonny Island, which discharged at Al Zour on 31 October 2025. Nothing has berthed at the terminal since 15 July.
Shippers await details on Trump’s 20% Hormuz transit charge
Crude oil and LNG shippers are waiting for more details after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would impose a 20% charge on all cargoes transiting the Strait of Hormuz, a move the U.N.’s International Maritime Organization said it strongly opposes as unlawful.
LNG tankers retreat from Hormuz after vessel attacks
Five crude oil and LNG tankers have turned back from attempts to transit the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the area. As tit-for-tat attacks between the US and Iran continue, maritime authorities raised the risk of transiting Hormuz to “severe.”
QatarEnergy moves empty LNG carriers back into the Gulf
Qatar is repositioning LNG carriers back into the Middle East Gulf as loadings resume and is understood to be seeking short-term charter coverage. Offtakers are counting on QatarEnergy’s promise to reinstate at least half of Ras Laffan production capacity within a month of safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz being restored.
Ras Laffan blast killed 13
An explosion at QatarEnergies LNG processing site at Ras Laffan killed 13 people and left 66 people injured, Qatar’s energy minister Saad al-Kaab said. The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. Authorities are investigating the incident.
Barzan blast reframes Ras Laffan's restart risk
No LNG carriers are at the Ras Laffan berths and no loadings under way, our vessel tracking data shows, and Sunday night's explosion and fire at the Barzan plant points to a slower return to market for the complex than its recent restart signals had implied.
Qatar LNG output could rebound within a month
Qatar could restore LNG production at unaffected Ras Laffan trains within a month after safe shipping through Hormuz resumes, sources told Reuters. Shipping and logistics are deemed the main bottlenecks, rather than plant operation.
Shipping – biggest obstacle to resume Qatari LNG flows
QatarEnergy CEO Saad al-Kaabi has identified shipping logistics as the biggest hindrance to resuming LNG exports from Ras Laffan once the Strait of Hormuz reopens, underlining tight tanker availability and routing constraints may impact the recovery of one of the world’s largest LNG export terminals.
Exxon sees 3% of Q1 production shut for up to five years
ExxonMobil has acknowledged damage to two LNG trains in Qatar was responsible for half of its 6% worldwide production outage, indicating the 3% Ras Laffan shortfall could linger on for up to five years, considering the repair timeline.
